The WSWS Naturally Doesn't Have Much Good to Say

about the forthcoming health care "reform" legislation:

In the early morning hours on Monday, the US Senate approved a procedural motion to move its version of health care legislation to final passage later this week. The bill proposes deep cuts in Medicare, ensures the profits of the giant insurers and pharmaceuticals, and will result in reductions in care for millions of ordinary Americans.


The Senate voted 60-40—the exact majority needed to avoid a Republican filibuster—with all members of the Democratic caucus voting for the legislation and all Republican senators opposing it. The final form of the bill was the product of joint manoeuvres by White House officials and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada, to secure the votes of key Democratic holdouts.


The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, hailed by President Obama as a “big victory for American people,” is in reality a thoroughly reactionary piece of legislation. The central focus of the $871 billion bill is to slash government health care spending. It includes more than $400 billion in cuts to Medicare, the government-run program for the elderly and disabled.